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Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Serving the Public, Opposing the Government

The
Leader of the Opposition is perhaps the most difficult job in Canadian
politics. It comes with a great deal of political responsibility but very
little actual power. Perhaps when best able to influence government policy,
when the government is in minority, there is tremendous pressure not to give an
inch to the governing party in efforts to make things difficult. Not to mention
in those instances every move is about just building enough support to get to
government.

It's
a thankless job, but the good ones report to their post and grill the
government, propose alternatives, work constructively and manage their parties
in a way to remain coherent enough to present a united front on different
issues and a government-in-waiting. In fact, the aspect of being the
government-in-waiting is often overlooked as the constitutional convention
where the Governor General or Lieutenant Generals may call upon the Leader of
the Opposition to form government when confidence is lost. This convention
ensures stability and continuity. If the new government fails to gain
confidence of the house an election is called. Enter Alberta.

In
the past few months Jim Prentice (PCAA - Calgary-Foothills) has become leader
of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta and Premier of Alberta.
He oversaw a resurgence of the flailing party while weathering the attacks of
Danielle Smith (PCAA - Highwood) then leader of the Wildrose Party, until
December 17th, 2014. On that day Ms. Smith and eight MLAs of the Wildrose Party
crossed the floor to join the government. Outside of a time of war I cannot
imagine any possible time in Westminster history that a Leader of the
Opposition joined the government.

When
I heard this story I was conflicted on how I felt. On the one hand our system
of government gives parliamentarians a great deal of discretion in determining
who they align themselves with and who sits as government. Crossing the floor,
changing parties and forming new ones is part of how parliament should work. On
the other hand it is easy to see how Smith's move was a craven, crass bid for
political power.

However,
it was the news today that had me stunned about the state of Alberta's Loyal
Opposition. Raj Sherman (ALP - Edmonton-Meadowlark), leader of the Alberta
Liberal Party announced his sudden resignation as leader of the Liberal Party
and Opposition. According to the story I read in the Edmonton Journal Sherman
resigned for personal reasons, and I do not fault a man for leaving public life
to deal with personal matters, but the impact must be considered.

Where
does that leave Alberta? With an estimated two months until the next provincial
Liberals the second and third place parties appear as though they will not have
permanent leaders. The New Democrats are also under a new leader, Rachel Notley
(ANDP - Edmonton Strathcona).

The
people of Alberta deserve an effective and strong opposition, especially
because of the single-party nature of the province's politics. The PCAA has
been in power since 1971 and appears poised to be re-elected this spring.
Albertans deserve a strongly articulated alternative vision and a their
government would be greatly improved if one party was not so closely tied to government.
However, I fear that Albertans will not get that option in 2015. The Leader of
the Opposition is a key component in our system and it has been far too
neglected in Alberta to the detriment of the public life that province.
Hopefully politically engaged Albertans can stand up and present multiple
perspectives to reflect its dynamic and changing nature.